Programs/FundingStep Up to Succession with Farm Management Canada! Is your family farm in a state of transition? Are you looking to start the succession conversation?Are you a young farmer looking to broaden your farm business skills?

If you answered 'Yes' to any of the above, Farm Management Canada's Bridging the Gap: Step Up to Succession program is for you!The Bridging the Gap: Step Up to Succession program seeks to help bridge the gap between generations of farmers to provide Canada's future farmers with the best chance for success.Did you know? Less than 1/3 of Canada's farmers have a succession plan, while close to 40% are in the succession stage of their farm business. Young farmers have a chance to apply to be selected to participate in a Successor Development program. The Program allows young farmers to take part in key industry events dedicated to farm business management and more importantly, taking over the farm.Selected young farmers will attend:• 21st International Farm Management Congress, July 2-7 2017, Edinburgh, Scotland• Agricultural Excellence Conference, November 21-23 2017, Ottawa, Ontario• Choice of attending either:Canada's Outstanding Young Farmers, December 2017OrCanadian Young Farmers' Forum, February 2018All expenses paid.FMC will be working with renowned farm family coach Elaine Froese and business management consultant Cedric MacLeod to help lead the program and coach participants throughout their journey.YOUNG FARMERS, APPLY TO THE SUCCESSOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM TODAY!Applications are due March 31st.Winners will be notified by April 14th.For 2017-2018, applications will be accepted from British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec young farmers only. Applications were accepted from all other regions in the previous year. For more information on the program or to apply, please visit http://www.fmc-gac.com/home or contact Farm Management Canada at info@fmc-gac.com or 1-888-232-3262.

BC Agriculture CouncilWATER LICENSING UPDATE - ALL NON-DOMESTIC WELL USERS MUST NOW BE LICENSED.Deadline for waived application fee has been extended to December 31, 2017 (previously March 1, 2017)What does this mean for Farmers? - The Water Sustainability Act and new regulations were brought into effect on February 29, 2016. This legislation requires all non-domestic groundwater users, including farmers and ranchers, to apply for a water license.Existing groundwater users will have a 3-year period to apply for a license (Feb 29, 2016 - Mar 1, 2019). Licenses will also be required for any newly constructed wells from 2016 onward, with the exception of wells used only for only domestic purposes. Existing well owners that apply for a license in the first two years (2016 and 2017) will be exempted from application fees (until December 31, 2017). Applications received from January 1, 2018 and onward will need to pay the additional application fee.Why license? It's the law! - Protect your rights by licensing your well. Licensees will have a right to use water based on their date of first use. Their rights will be protected based on the current First-in-Time-First-in-Right (FITFIR) priority water allocation system.Under the FITFIR system, licensees with earlier licence dates (senior licensees) have priority over later licence dates (junior licensees) for accessing water. These rights are important during times of drought or water scarcity.How to Apply?

BC Cattlemen's Association developed a Helpful Hints document to help guide producers through the online licensing application.

For help with the application process contact FrontCounter BC at 1-877-855-3222 (toll free)

If you are curious about the potential cost of your well a Water Rent Estimation Calculator has been created and can be found here.

The BCAC Water Sustainability Committee continues to work closely with government to ensure the implementation of BC's new Water Sustainability Act is as easy and painless as possible.

Livestock Tag Reader Rebate programThe ministry has recently launched the new Livestock Tag Reader Rebate program, funded by Growing Forward 2. The program targets small livestock producers in B.C. that do not meet the eligibility requirement of $30K in annual farm income of the ministry’s On-Farm-Food Safety and Traceability program, also a GF2 program. The new program intends to help small livestock producers with the purchase of a livestock tag reader and associated software so they are prepared to meet the anticipated federal regulations on livestock movement reporting.

The program will reimburse up to 70% of the cost of these readers to a maximum of $3,500 per applicant. Eligible expenses are livestock tag readers (hand-held or panel readers), reader installation, related software and related equipment training. Readers must be listed on the CCIA’s Conditionally Verified Readers list. For a link to the list and more information including an application form, visit http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/programs/food-safety/livestock-tag-reader-rebate-program. The livestock applicant must also be registered in the ministry’s Premises Identification program. Registration for BCPID can happen simultaneously as the application to the Tag Reader program.

Spread the word on the new program. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Post-Farm Food Safety and Traceability Program (PFFST) The PFFST Program seeks to improve food safety and traceability by providing funding up to a maximum of $35,000 through cost-shared funding to eligible BC agrifood businesses to:·conduct food safety and traceability assessments to identify and document risks, issues and opportunities to improve food safety and traceability capacity, systems and practices;·access training to increase the food safety and traceability expertise of their staff; and·implement Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), Best Practices (BPs) and recognized Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) food safety practices and traceability systems in their operations.PFFST program is being delivered by Food Processing Human Resources Council (FP HRC) until Feb 28, 2018. For more information, please contact Dayna Poulin at 1-877-963-7472 or at dpoulin@fphrc.ca. If you have any questions about PFFST program, you can also contact Navneet Gill at 604-556-3079 or Navneet.Gill@gov.bc.ca . Putting in place recognized food safety and traceability systems will support BC agribusinesses effectively manage food safety risk, access new markets, and retain and expand existing markets. PFFST program is now accepting applications. Program application, guidelines and related documents are available at http://postfarmfoodsafety.com/home/BC FoodWorks Program will accelerate the success of agrifood processing companies based in British Columbia. The Program will support individual small- and medium-sized enterprises in the food, functional food, and natural health product sector by providing business training, customized workshops, one-on-one coaching and mentoring, ongoing business support, networking and marketing opportunities to address challenges related to business planning, human resources, export development, investment attraction, operations, regulatory processes and/or sales and marketing. If you are aware of any companies that might be interested in participating in the program, feel free to direct them to the BC FoodWorks webpage:https://bcfoodworks.com/On-Farm Food Safety & Traceability Program B.C.'s On Farm Food Safety and Traceability Program offers eligible B.C. agrifood businesses cost shared funding to:·Conduct food safety and traceability assessments to identify and document risks, issues and opportunities to improve food safety and traceability capacity, systems and practices;·Access training to increase the food safety and traceability expertise of their staff; and·Implement good agricultural practices (GAPs), best practices (BPs) and recognized hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) food safety practices and traceability systems in their operations.The program targets on-farm agri-businesses producing food for human consumption and businesses seeking first-time certification in internationally recognized HACCP-based food safety assurance programs. B.C. companies that use recognized food safety and traceability standards, and implement food safety and traceability systems, effectively manage food safety risk, and create opportunities to access new markets and increase sales.The program is administered and delivered by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Learn more about the program and how to applyGovernment of Canada Funding: Canadian Summer Jobs - Canada Summer Jobs provides funding to help employers create summer job opportunities for students. It is designed to focus on local priorities, while helping both students and their communities. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/youth-summer-job.htmlYour application must be submitted by 23:59 (Pacific Standard Time), on January 20 of the year you wish to hire.

Bats and White Nose Syndrome (WNS) WNS is an invasive fungal disease that has killed 7 million bats in eastern North America since arriving here in 2006 and caused emergency listing of Little Brown and Northern Bats in Canada due to 90% to 100% declines at some hibernacula. WNS was detected in Washington State in 2016 and is likely to spread to BC, putting our bats at risk. We are requesting that the public report and submit dead bats to the BC Community Bat Program for WNS analysis. help us to increase awareness by sharing the following information bulletin. https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2017ENV0013-000301